Microsoft Dreamspark... Like a puppy for xmas; Both a pain and a gift
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Microsoft's Dreamspark program is great, the opportunity for students, who more than likely have a limited budget, to get free professional grade tools. However, from there it goes downhill. If you're a student at one of the larger colleges in the U.S perhaps the experience is better than mine but arg its frustrating. Trying to prove you're a high school student means going to a third party site, doing an e-purchase and having to scan and email in proof (a schedule or ID, which i was required to do so three times) anyways now onto the real story. So Microsoft offers Server 2008 Standard x86 as a download and doesn't mention you can download x64 :S. So once I find this golden nugget in the dirt, i immediately back up important files and reformat with the trial version of Server 08 x64. That's when it goes to hell. When i try to activate it sends me back a polite error message that I've already used the key to activate a product.. well yes I know. (why isn't there a "deactivation" scheme?) What can I do about it is my question and the answer on the dialog is "Call microsoft" alright so i click the text link and it opens a help box WITH NO NUMBER. So now I have to jump through hoops on google trying to find someone who had had a similar issue. There's of course someone else who has and they key is to completely unplug from the net and try to activate. At this point you're presented with a phone activation choice. This leads to a second dialog that allows you to pick the closest country and after you do you're given a toll-free number to call. Now you have to read off 63 digits to a automated machine who ensures you're legitimate then reads 63 back to you making an already frustrating process take longer. It all worked out and im genuine again :cool: My suggestion? Make a deactivation scheme..
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Microsoft's Dreamspark program is great, the opportunity for students, who more than likely have a limited budget, to get free professional grade tools. However, from there it goes downhill. If you're a student at one of the larger colleges in the U.S perhaps the experience is better than mine but arg its frustrating. Trying to prove you're a high school student means going to a third party site, doing an e-purchase and having to scan and email in proof (a schedule or ID, which i was required to do so three times) anyways now onto the real story. So Microsoft offers Server 2008 Standard x86 as a download and doesn't mention you can download x64 :S. So once I find this golden nugget in the dirt, i immediately back up important files and reformat with the trial version of Server 08 x64. That's when it goes to hell. When i try to activate it sends me back a polite error message that I've already used the key to activate a product.. well yes I know. (why isn't there a "deactivation" scheme?) What can I do about it is my question and the answer on the dialog is "Call microsoft" alright so i click the text link and it opens a help box WITH NO NUMBER. So now I have to jump through hoops on google trying to find someone who had had a similar issue. There's of course someone else who has and they key is to completely unplug from the net and try to activate. At this point you're presented with a phone activation choice. This leads to a second dialog that allows you to pick the closest country and after you do you're given a toll-free number to call. Now you have to read off 63 digits to a automated machine who ensures you're legitimate then reads 63 back to you making an already frustrating process take longer. It all worked out and im genuine again :cool: My suggestion? Make a deactivation scheme..
Josh_Jackson wrote:
read off 63 digits to a automated machine
and you key in the 124th digit incorrectly, AAaaahhhhhhh
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Josh_Jackson wrote:
read off 63 digits to a automated machine
and you key in the 124th digit incorrectly, AAaaahhhhhhh
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
"please speak the last phrase of the key:" 643*ACHOOO* That is an invalid key, please start over again. "please speak the first phrase of the key now:"
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb) John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."
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Microsoft's Dreamspark program is great, the opportunity for students, who more than likely have a limited budget, to get free professional grade tools. However, from there it goes downhill. If you're a student at one of the larger colleges in the U.S perhaps the experience is better than mine but arg its frustrating. Trying to prove you're a high school student means going to a third party site, doing an e-purchase and having to scan and email in proof (a schedule or ID, which i was required to do so three times) anyways now onto the real story. So Microsoft offers Server 2008 Standard x86 as a download and doesn't mention you can download x64 :S. So once I find this golden nugget in the dirt, i immediately back up important files and reformat with the trial version of Server 08 x64. That's when it goes to hell. When i try to activate it sends me back a polite error message that I've already used the key to activate a product.. well yes I know. (why isn't there a "deactivation" scheme?) What can I do about it is my question and the answer on the dialog is "Call microsoft" alright so i click the text link and it opens a help box WITH NO NUMBER. So now I have to jump through hoops on google trying to find someone who had had a similar issue. There's of course someone else who has and they key is to completely unplug from the net and try to activate. At this point you're presented with a phone activation choice. This leads to a second dialog that allows you to pick the closest country and after you do you're given a toll-free number to call. Now you have to read off 63 digits to a automated machine who ensures you're legitimate then reads 63 back to you making an already frustrating process take longer. It all worked out and im genuine again :cool: My suggestion? Make a deactivation scheme..
I like the current system myself. Easy and fast, the only thing I don't like is I always the the Indian customer service rep with the hardest core Indian accent that numbers start to sound like phrases. I have like 50 copies of 100% legal Windows XP Pro, OEM, SP1, SP2, SP3. Been in the IT/Programming business for a while now. But when I get a laptop that dies and need to replace it, I grab a random copy and if it fails I explain the issue and get it resolved quite quickly. I just make sure that I have less computers running XP than I have copies so I am still within EULA, which still isn't an issue as we will just order more.
The best way to accelerate a Macintosh is at 9.8m/sec² - Marcus Dolengo
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Microsoft's Dreamspark program is great, the opportunity for students, who more than likely have a limited budget, to get free professional grade tools. However, from there it goes downhill. If you're a student at one of the larger colleges in the U.S perhaps the experience is better than mine but arg its frustrating. Trying to prove you're a high school student means going to a third party site, doing an e-purchase and having to scan and email in proof (a schedule or ID, which i was required to do so three times) anyways now onto the real story. So Microsoft offers Server 2008 Standard x86 as a download and doesn't mention you can download x64 :S. So once I find this golden nugget in the dirt, i immediately back up important files and reformat with the trial version of Server 08 x64. That's when it goes to hell. When i try to activate it sends me back a polite error message that I've already used the key to activate a product.. well yes I know. (why isn't there a "deactivation" scheme?) What can I do about it is my question and the answer on the dialog is "Call microsoft" alright so i click the text link and it opens a help box WITH NO NUMBER. So now I have to jump through hoops on google trying to find someone who had had a similar issue. There's of course someone else who has and they key is to completely unplug from the net and try to activate. At this point you're presented with a phone activation choice. This leads to a second dialog that allows you to pick the closest country and after you do you're given a toll-free number to call. Now you have to read off 63 digits to a automated machine who ensures you're legitimate then reads 63 back to you making an already frustrating process take longer. It all worked out and im genuine again :cool: My suggestion? Make a deactivation scheme..